Sportstown Lite: Anaheim Drops Hotel, Youth Center, Office Space

Plans for a youth sports center and one of two hotels have been scrapped in a scaled-down version of Sportstown Anaheim, the entertainment and retail complex proposed for property around Anaheim Stadium, which will also have 70% less office space than originally envisioned, city officials said Tuesday.

The revised proposal comes as the city’s Planning Commission considers approving an environmental impact report, required by state law for major projects. The commission will vote on the report after a special hearing today. It is the final legal hurdle before construction on the Sportstown project can begin.

Overall redevelopment of the area, which would cover 167 acres, still features a renovated Anaheim Stadium and room for a new football stadium next to the Big A. But planners now want to scale back Sportstown from 80 acres to 45 acres, leaving space for 750,000 square feet of entertainment and retail space, one 500-room hotel, 250,000 square feet of office space, and a 150,000-square-foot exhibition center. The project also includes 15,570 parking spaces.

City reports show that Sportstown, even before it was scaled down, would have less effect on the environment of the area than an office complex previously approved for the same site that was never built because the market for office space turned sour.

Still, a neighboring city, two local school districts and several governmental agencies have expressed in writing their concerns over how the planned complex will affect traffic, parking and student population.

City officials said they believe the concerns have been adequately addressed and mitigated and recommend that the Planning Commission approve the report when it meets today.

“All issues have been comprehensively evaluated, addressed and responded to,” said Joel Ficke, the city’s planning director.

In documents filed with Anaheim’s Planning Department, the city of Orange, which is adjacent to the proposed project, expressed concerns about parking that overflows into the city when major events are scheduled at the Big A or the Pond, half a mile away.

The Orange Police Department also expressed concern about an increase in crime. After the Pond opened in 1993, Orange experienced an increase in auto burglaries, auto thefts, assaults and thefts that occurred when spectators parked their cars on the street in Orange and walked to the nearby arena.

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Responding in documents they filed, Anaheim officials said security patrols will be used to reduce the potential for criminal activity, and Orange police will be alerted in advance of major events at the complex.

Officials with the Anaheim City School District and the Anaheim Union High School District also complained that the city had not adequately considered how an increase in student population could affect schools in both districts.

School officials believe the city has underestimated the number of jobs the development would create. The jobs would bring in residents and children who would attend already overcrowded schools, they contend.

City officials concede that Sportstown could have an “indirect” impact on the schools but said that if employees move into existing dwellings, their children would merely be replacing other students. Development fees would be paid to the schools for any homes that are built, they said.

The county’s Environmental Management Agency and Caltrans expressed concern about the volume of traffic the complex will attract. But city officials said the project has been designed to allow only one sporting event at a time to avoid traffic congestion and parking problems.

Unveiled with considerable fanfare in January, Sportstown would be anchored by the Big A, scheduled to undergo a $100-million renovation, and a new 70,500-seat football stadium if the city is able to land a National Football League team.

The city’s environmental impact report has been revised to reflect several changes that make the project considerably smaller.

A compromise on the entertainment, retail and office space was reached during negotiations with the Walt Disney Co., which has purchased a controlling interest in the California Angels. Disney was concerned over the impact Sportstown would have on renovation plans for the Big A.

Anaheim leaders have not disclosed the projected cost of Sportstown Anaheim, which would be built in stages over an unspecified period of time. They have said they are counting on a partnership with private developers.

“We believe this can be a landmark site for northern Orange County,” Ficke said.

As a result of the reduction in size, the complex is now expected to draw 2,474 new jobs to the city, instead of the 3,879 originally predicted.

The commission meets at 1:30 p.m. at Anaheim City Hall.